Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Teachers, students and parents urge board to stay virtual, call for reinstatements and grievance settlements
Summary
Dozens of public commenters — including teachers, union representatives and students — urged the board to keep schools virtual through the school year, called for reinstatement of disciplined staff, and demanded settlement of outstanding pay grievances for JROTC instructors.
A cluster of public comments during the board’s Jan. 12 meeting focused on COVID safety, working conditions and personnel disputes. Several teachers and organizers urged the board to keep schools virtual for the remainder of the school year and called for the reinstatement or reversal of disciplinary actions taken against district employees.
Benjamin Royal, a Mayberry Elementary teacher and member of a teachers’ caucus, told the board he saw no data to support reopening and said disciplinary actions against staff who advocated for safety must be rescinded. "The conversation about reopening has to stop. It cannot happen this year," he said, and urged the board to "make this online system work."
Multiple speakers implored the board to reinstate LC Bolger and rescind the suspension of teacher Nicole Stuckey, asking that both employees be made whole for lost wages and that discipline be removed from personnel records. Nicole Conaway, a teacher and organizer, said the district had "wrongfully punished" educators for advocating for staff and student safety and called on the board to reverse the penalties.
Student organizers from Detroit Area Youth United and other youth groups also urged the board to maintain virtual instruction, citing mental-health concerns and a desire for consistency. One student speaker asked the board to cancel standardized testing for the year, arguing the tests add stress in a disrupted academic year.
Several commenters also raised an outstanding grievance related to JROTC instructors’ pay; speakers said the administration owed money and urged settlement of those grievances.
Board leadership listened and acknowledged the comments; the transcript records the range of concerns but no immediate board votes or policy changes were taken in response to public comment during the meeting. Staff follow-up and future board discussion were promised as next steps.
